Boundaries of Utopia - Imagining Communism From Plato to Stalin - Imagining Communism From Plato to Stalin

The idea that socialism could be established in a single country was adopted as an official doctrine by the Soviet Union in 1925, Stalin and Bukharin being the main formulators of the policy. Before this there had been much debate as to whether the only way to secure socialism would be as a result of socialist revolution on a much broader scale, across all Europe or wider still. This book traces the development of ideas about communist utopia from Plato onwards, paying particular attention to debates about universalist ideology versus the possibility for "socialism in one country". The book argues that although the prevailing view is that "socialism in one country" was a sharp break from a long tradition that tended to view socialism as only possible if universal, in fact the territorially confined socialist project had long roots, including in the writings of Marx and Engels.

List of contents

Introduction 1. Communism as New Jerusalem 2. Communism as Utopia 3. Communism as Armed Fortress 4. Communism as Triple Alliance 5. Permanent Revolution 6. Marxist Patriotism 7. Socialism as Trading Company 8. Socialism as Vast State 9. Russian Socialism Takes a Backseat 10. Marxism in Industrialised Germany 11. Socialism as Autarky 12. Socialism as War Economy 13. Socialisation of the National Economy 14. Socialism in One Country 15. The Great Debate Conclusion

About the author

Erik van Ree is an Assistant Professor in the Institute of East European/European Studies at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Product details

• Authors: Erik Van Ree, Erik van Ree
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 05.06.2015
• EAN: 9780415703727
• ISBN: 978-0-415-70372-7
• No. of pages: 248
• Series: Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe Series
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Ethnology > Folklore; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Regional Studies, Social & political philosophy, social and political philosophy, Regional Studies, Far-left political ideologies and movements, Regional / International studies, Socialism & left-of-centre democratic ideologies, Left-of-centre democratic ideologies, Former Soviet Union, USSR (Europe), Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500, The Cold War, Marxism & Communism, Cold wars and proxy conflicts, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / General